Welcome to the Team, Part Two
"Welcome to the Team, Part Two" was the seventeenth issue of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine comic book series. Synopsis After Buffy had suddenly vanished from the fight with zompires and Dowling had been bitten by an extraordinarily strong zompire, Billy had to fight extra hard in order to save his friend. Luckily, however, a team from the S.F.P.D. Vampire Task Force arrived in time to save them. While officers tended to Dowling's wounds, Dowling told Billy to go find Buffy. Meanwhile, Buffy was in Los Angeles, being talked to by Illyria. Buffy recognised Illyria from descriptions by Angel and Spike, and noted that Illyria had gotten her powers back. Illyria then used these powers to bring Buffy to a mystical place (Planetarium in Outer Space?), where she was met by various demons, among whom D'Hoffryn, leader of the Vengeance Demons. This council explained that with so little magical energy left, they had to band to protect that. They showed Buffy that there was a dangerous foe out there still: Severin. Back in San Francisco, Dawn was coughing in her sleep, which woke up Xander. In a fit of rage, he threw her cough syrup at the wall. He then apologised and went to sleep on the couch. Just as he was falling asleep again he was rung up, he angrily answered the phone. It was Billy, who informed him on Dowling's situation. Later at the hospital Xander and Dawn asked Billy what had happened. When Billy spoke of Buffy's disappearance, Xander snapped again. Billy left saying he would find Buffy. Dawn spoke out against Xander's constant anger and Xander explained that he had difficulty adjusting to normal life. Meanwhile, one demon lady spoke to Buffy of her encounter with Severin, who had stolen all her powers from her. Illyria said she understood how the demon lady felt: human. At this, Buffy commented that that was a good thing. Illyria however, said that trying to be Fred was not working out for anyone. The council gave more warnings about the Siphon and Buffy explained she believed he was working with Simone. Buffy said that while she had not issue with him taking out demons, she believed that he was collecting this energy for a reason and she would help the Council find out what it was. Back in San Francisco, Billy and Devon were on the phone. Billy felt responsible for the night's events, but Devon cheered him up. Then Devon gave him the idea to check the site of Buffy's disappearance for clues. Meanwhile, Illyria explained that because of the Siphon's power, she could not bend time around him and therefore, they needed to go to him. Illyria would accompany Buffy, but she had also recruited Eldre Koh to their side. Although the alliance would be uneasy, Buffy and Eldre Koh went along with it. Back in San Francisco, a doctor came to tell Xander and Dawn that Dowling had made it through surgery and would be okay. While Xander was discussing his situation, Dawn suddenly felt weak, she passed out and her breathing stopped. Finally, Buffy, Illyria, and Eldre Koh had surrounded Severin's new lair. They attacked from three sides and when they converged, they found the Siphon was not where they had been told he would be. Then he appeared behind them with the body of a demon from whom he had learned about their attack. His powers seemed at full force! Continuity The story was set after "Billy the Vampire Slayer, Part Two", but before "Welcome to the Team, Part Three". Illyria states that she regained her powers after parting ways from Angel and Spike, but does not share any details. This could be a reference to the IDW comic book series Illyria: Haunted, which depicted Illyria departing from Angel Investigations and regaining her powers from an ancient crystal in the Deeper Well. However, as with all of IDW's post-''After the Fall'' comics, the canonicity of Haunted is ambiguous. Appearances Individuals *Buffy Summers *Billy Lane *Robert Dowling *Illyria *Angel *Spike *D'Hoffryn *Severin *Xander Harris *Dawn Summers *Winifred Burkle *Simone Doffler *Devon *Anaheed *Eldre Koh Organizations and Titles *San Francisco Police Department Vampire Task Force *Illyria's mystical council *Siphon Species *Human *Zompire *Slayer *Old One *Vengeance Demon *Unidentified Demons *Nitobe Locations *San Francisco, California, U.S. *Los Angeles, California, U.S. Body Count *two zompires, dusted by Billy Lane *Tessa Freer, dusted a San Francisco cop *thirteen zompires, dusted by San Francisco cops Behind the Scenes Collections *''Welcome to the Team'' Pop Culture References *Billy's hoodie had the text Bazinga on it; a reference to The Big Bang Theory. *Xander referred to his rage as hulking out. *Devon had a Glee poster on his wall. *Devon told Billy to solve puzzles like The Hardy Boys. *Members of the council are stated to be composed of various remaining mystical beings: "witches, demons, mystics, deities... and now a Slayer." Art depicts a traditional looking Wizard, the or a Buddha (with green skin), an arboreal creature similar to one featured in Season Eight, a talking red balloon (cf. French film ''The Red Balloon'' and the Banksy painting Balloon Girl). Quotes nl:Welcome to the Team, Deel Twee Category:Season Nine Category:Buffy comics